Mayor Foulcard introduces new police chief

Franklin Mayor Eugene Foulcard took an opportunity Tuesday to officially introduce newly instated Police Chief Morris Beverly to Franklin Rotarians at their weekly luncheon at the Forest Restaurant.
Beverly informed attendees, and the community at large, not to be alarmed if a uniformed officer soon comes knocking on their doors. He said it is part of a new community policing initiative he and the mayor have decided to pursue.
“So, don’t worry,” he said of any unexpected prospect of officers at the door. “We’re just trying to find out some of your thoughts and concerns.”
He mentioned he is a fan of Andy Griffith, sheriff of Mayberry, in the show by the same name which aired in the 1960s.
He said he appreciated that in the show, Griffith was portrayed as being intimately acquainted with the citizenry he was charged to protect and serve, and that that was one of the things he thought made Griffith such an outstanding sheriff in the show.
He said he wanted to emulate that trait as the police chief of Franklin.
Beverly further stated that working with Foulcard has kept him busy with as much as the two of them have endeavored in filling their days with the business of local progress.
Foulcard also addressed Rotarians Tuesday with a State of the City-esque speech outlining accomplishments and explaining processes from his first seven months in office, as well as things to come.
He first pointed to the overlay work taking place on roads around the city, where crews have been patching rutted and potholed roads with fresh tar.
Next, he harkened back to October’s job fair in conjunction with the Southern Louisiana Community College campus in Franklin, saying almost as many as 50 new jobs reportedly came from the several day affair.
“The city of Franklin has also begun instituting Project Front Yard,” Foulcard continued. “With Project Front Yard, we would like to bring a sense of pride back into our city by concentrating on clean-up initiatives, block by block in Franklin, by cutting grass and picking up trash.
“We figure if it starts at home, we feel like it will spread to the different areas throughout Franklin.”
Foulcard went on to say that as of July 1, the city has been “aggressively” working on the removal or restoration of blighted homes.
He then addressed the need for properly working streetlights in neighborhoods and on local streets, saying, “If you see a streetlight out, let us know. They have a number on the pole, you can call CLECO or you can call City Hall, so we can be proactive in addressing the situation.”
He pointed to the $1.8 million rehabilitation to the sewer plant at Northwest Boulevard as being a success in infrastructure expansion and approximated May as the proposed time of completion.
He said he has been working closely with Fire Chief Chuck Bougeois in repairing, installing, and extending water lines at various points in the city, and has re-written municipal safety manuals, increasing acceptable safety standards for all municipal employees, and with Chief Beverly and the police department, as well.
Foulcard recalled the recent work done by the Downtown Merchants Association, most especially, the Jingle and Mingle shopping and crafts Christmas festivities which took place on downtown Main Street last December.
Foulcard called it, “like a Hallmark movie,” describing the trolley-car and Christmas crafts of the two-block event; and he said he is looking forward to this year’s Artists and Appetizers function.
He closed by teasing plans for an amphitheater where the old Center Theater used to be, with more concrete news to follow, once those plans have solidified.